Intamin

Knott's Berry Farm has agreed to a financial settlement with the family of a 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured during a 2009 accident on the Xcelerator roller coaster. "There's a confidential settlement," said Art Morgan, the family's attorney. "We can't say the amount. " A Knott's spokesperson declined to comment on the settlement. Kyle Wheeler was sitting in the front row of Xcelerator when the roller coaster's launch cable snapped, whipped toward the riders and split the fiberglass car in half.

While theme parks often add water parks to attract more visitors and encourage longer stays,  Italy's Etnaland water park will introduce a twist on the trend by opening a theme park in 2013. PHOTOS: Etnaland theme park set to open in 2013 Set to debut in March 2013, Etnaland's new theme park will feature 27 attractions including roller coasters, thrill rides, dark rides and water rides. Park World reports that several of the theme park attractions may soft-open in late 2012.

While theme parks often add water parks to attract more visitors and encourage longer stays,  Italy's Etnaland water park will introduce a twist on the trend by opening a theme park in 2013. PHOTOS: Etnaland theme park set to open in 2013 Set to debut in March 2013, Etnaland's new theme park will feature 27 attractions including roller coasters, thrill rides, dark rides and water rides. Park World reports that several of the theme park attractions may soft-open in late 2012.

Knott's Berry Farm has agreed to a financial settlement with the family of a 12-year-old boy who was seriously injured during a 2009 accident on the Xcelerator roller coaster. "There's a confidential settlement," said Art Morgan, the family's attorney. "We can't say the amount. " A Knott's spokesperson declined to comment on the settlement. Kyle Wheeler was sitting in the front row of Xcelerator when the roller coaster's launch cable snapped, whipped toward the riders and split the fiberglass car in half.

Investigators are looking into whether weight was a factor in the death of a woman who fell from a steep water ride Friday at Knott's Berry Farm. Lori Mason-Larez, 40, of Duarte fell from the Perilous Plunge ride as it dropped 115 feet at up to 50 mph. The mother of five slipped from both a seat belt and lap bar and fell to the water below.

Six Flags Inc., the second-biggest U.S. theme-park operator, closed a free-fall ride at four of its parks after a cable snapped on the attraction at its Louisville, Ky., park and severed the feet of a 13-year-old girl. Cedar Fair, operator of amusement parks including Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, said it temporarily shut down five similar rides at its locations. Rides at Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags' Magic Mountain in Valencia were not affected.

Known as "America's Roller Coast," Cedar Point has been home to many record-breaking rides over the years and boasts a towering skyline of steel unmatched by any other amusement park. Photos : View the Top 10 Cedar Point roller coasters With 17 coasters, Cedar Point remains just behind Six Flags Magic Mountain's 18 coasters in a fierce back-and-forth battle for the coveted title of "Roller Coaster Capital of the World. " The Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park is about mind-blending speeds, gut-wrenching drops and scream-inducing thrills of the wooden- and steel-coaster kind.

The family of a woman who died after falling from a flume ride filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against Knott's Berry Farm and the maker of the Perilous Plunge. Lori Mason Larez, 40, of Duarte died Sept. 21 after slipping from the ride's seat belt and lap bar as her "boat" made its steepest decline, dropping 115 feet at up to 50 mph. The suit accuses the park and the Perilous Plunge maker, Intamin Co., of wrongful death and negligent design and operation of the ride.

A state investigation found that a 2009 roller coaster accident that injured two riders at Knott's Berry Farm could have been prevented with proper maintenance, casting blame on both the theme park and the ride manufacturer. Xcelerator, a $13-million, hydraulic-launch accelerator coaster that opened at the Buena Park theme park in 2002, reopened Monday evening after Knott's made modifications required by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. In a statement, the theme park said the state's report "identified shortcomings in the manufacturer's instructions regarding the inspection and maintenance of the cable" and that the state agency had "required Knott's Berry Farm to put into place additional safeguards to determine cable viability and to work with the manufacturer to revise maintenance instructions."

Six Flags Magic Mountain says it plans to open another roller coaster, a $4-million ride called Flashback, next spring. It would become the eighth coaster at the Valencia theme park. The Flashback, a steel coaster with six 180-degree swooping vertical dives, would provide a 1 1/2-minute ride and accommodate up to 1,100 riders per hour. The coaster is being built by Intamin AG of Switzerland.

Billed as the world's tallest water ride, the $26-million Divertical at  Italy's Mirabilandia theme park will combine a shoot-the-chutes flume and a roller coaster track with an offshore powerboat racing theme. PHOTOS: Divertical water coaster at Mirabilandia Debuting June 16, the Divertical water coaster will feature an innovative elevator lift system that carries the 10-person boats to the top of the 197-foot-tall ride. From there, riders will descend a 45-degree water flume at speeds topping 65 mph. After a tidal wave-like splash, the train will continue along a coaster track over air-time hills and hairpin turns before dropping into a second splashdown pool.

Six Flags Magic Mountain will add a new 40-story thrill ride on June 30 themed to DC Comics villain Lex Luthor that will rank as the world's tallest and fastest drop tower. > Photos: New attractions coming to Six Flags parks in 2012 The 400-foot-tall Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom will be attached to both sides of the Valencia amusement park's 415-foot-tall Superman: Escape from Krypton coaster tower. After ascending to the top of the new drop tower, Lex Luthor riders will freefall for five seconds at speeds reaching 85 miles per hour before a magnetic braking system stops the drop.